First Reading Leviticus 19:1–2, 9–18
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God. 11 You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD. 13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. 14 You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 17 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
Psalm Psalm 119:33–40
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep your teaching; I shall keep it with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for that is my desire.
36 Incline my heart to your decrees and not to unjust gain.
37 Turn my eyes from beholding falsehood; give me life in your way.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread, because your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for your commandments; by your righteousness enliven me.
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 3:10–11, 16–23
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.”
21 So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Gospel Matthew 5:38–48
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
GOING THE SECOND MILE
Mark Twain once said this about the Bible: “I have no problem with those parts of the Bible I don’t understand. It’s those parts of the Bible I do understand that gives me fits.” For me, I think the passage from our gospel reading for this morning certainly fits into that category. This passage illustrates something I bet most of you have never thought about before. One of the easiest things to do in the world, is to become a Christian. As a matter of fact, by God’s design, is ridiculously easy. All you have to do, according to St. Mark, is believe and be baptized.
Mark 16:16 says, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. There simply isn’t anything easier in the world than to become a Christian. However, one of the most difficult things in the world is to be a Christian, or a follower of Christ, and Jesus’ commands to us this morning is certainly proof of that.
What Jesus says to His followers is totally antithetical to the typical attitude in America. Years ago there was a bumper sticker that became rather popular that simply said two words: “I Want.” It was a message that I think would fit on just about every car here in the US. We live in the country of “I want.” I want my happiness; I want my way; I want my money; and it seems above all, I want my rights.
Rights are considered as American as apple pie. And in this country we, as citizens, have a great number of rights. The problem is, we don’t actually understand the rights we have, nor the limitations of those rights. Ask most anyone on the street to tell you about the Constitution and about all they know is the portion we call the Bill of Rights. Now please don’t misunderstand, I’m all for the right kind of rights, but today, rights don’t so much promote the common good as much as they promote the agenda of the most vocal minority.
As orthodox Christians, we’re seeing more and more of our rights stripped from us, under the guise of “equal rights”, mainly because we’re too afraid to speak up for fear of being seen as intolerant. And that needs to change. More and more we need to demonstrate, through our actions, that we’re not bigots and haters, we’re ones called to love our neighbor and to love our neighbor means that in some cases we need to speak out against sinful behavior being forwarded as normative. However, there may also be times when we need to give up some rights so long as they don’t run counter to traditional Biblical teaching.
Bill Walton learned that to play basketball for UCLA’s coach John Wooden, you had to give up some rights. Coach Wooden had a rule against facial hair. If you played for him, no facial hair was allowed. After a ten day break from school, Bill Walton came to practice wearing a beard. Coach Wooden walked up to him and said, “Bill, have you forgotten something?” Walton replied, “Coach, if you mean the beard, I think I should be allowed to wear it, it’s my right.”
Coach Wooden said, “Do you really believe in that?” He said, “Yes, I do, very much.” Coach Wooden looked at him and said, “Bill, I have great respect for individuals who stand up for those things in which they believe. If you believe that is your right, I would die for your right to defend that right.” Bill Walton said, “Thank you, Coach.” Then Wooden said, “I just want you to know the team is really going to miss you.”
We’ve all heard the expression, “Do your duty.” Well, Jesus once again tells us something that no human would have ever thought of. He’s telling us, “Do what isn’t your duty,” and “Do more than your duty.” That means going the second mile. What that means is, we must be willing to get worse than we deserve. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (vv. 38-39)
In the 1st Century a slap on the cheek was a way of insulting someone. There were two things that would make any Jew mad 2,000 years ago; one would be to be spit in his face, and the other would be a backhanded slap on the cheek. In fact, that’s exactly what they did to our Lord Jesus. Matthew tells us, “Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands.” (Mt. 26:67) Even a slave would rather be struck on his back with a whip than slapped on his cheek by his master.
When somebody slaps you, it’s your natural impulse to slap them back. When someone insults you, the first thought is to insult them back. Bill Cosby was talking to a little boy one time named Peter, and he said, “Do you try to do the things Jesus told you to do?” Peter said, “Jesus hadn’t told me to do nothing.”
Cosby said, “Well how about if somebody hits you on one cheek, turn the other cheek.” Peter asked, “What does that mean?” Cosby said, “That means if somebody hits you, you don’t hit them back.” Peter looked at him confused and said, “That don’t sound too smart.” Cosby said, “Well that’s the whole point of what Jesus said, Peter. You have to be bigger than the other person.” Peter thought for a moment and he said, “Well, that makes sense because if you’re bigger, then you should hit him back.”
Isn’t that the way we normally think? But Jesus said, “If you are My follower, as hard as it may be, you should turn the other cheek. I need to stop and emphasize that Jesus wasn’t dealing with Christian passivism. He was talking about personal revenge, not social justice. This has nothing to do, for example, with our war in Afghanistan. The Bible says in 1 Pet. 2:13-14, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.” What Jesus is talking about is retaliation, revenge, retribution. It’s what Paul said in Romans 12:19, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written ‘Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord.” In other words, you never get even by trying to get even. Let me give you a simple rule.
Be quick to defend others, but be slow to defend yourself. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I never give an explanation of my actions to my critics.” He said the reason is simple. “My friends don’t need an explanation and my enemies wouldn’t believe it.” That’s wise advice, but having said that, I think it’s worth noting that Jesus suggested two cheeks, not dozens of them. Jesus wasn’t advocating that we become a doormat to people who try to abuse us or walk all over us. Paul went on to say in the 12th chapter of Romans, verse 18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Now sometimes that simply isn’t always possible.
There’s the story that’s told about a small man that walked into a restaurant, sat down to eat, and a big bully sitting on a barstool got up and walked over to that little man and chopped him across the neck, knocking him flat on the floor. As the man was getting up, the big man said, “That’s karate from Japan.” Well, the smaller man rubbed his neck, sat back down and tried to eat his meal. A few minutes later the big man returned, picked the little man off the chair, threw him over his shoulder and said, “That’s Judo from Japan.” Well, the little man walked out of the restaurant with the big man laughing at him. He returned fifteen minutes later, walked up behind him, cracked him over the head and said, “That’s crowbar from Sears.” Sometimes self-defense isn’t only warranted and necessary, but it can be a good lesson for the other person. However, what we must remember is that forgiveness, and not revenge, should be our first response. This brings us to the second “right” we need to give up and that is that we need to always be willing to give more than we’re asked.
Jesus continued, “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.” (v.40) The situation Jesus was describing was very common in Bible days. If one person took another person to court, and the person didn’t have the money to pay the judgment, the court could order payment of the lawsuit in clothing. You could take the man’s tunic; you could take the man’s shirt, but you couldn’t take his coat.
The shirt spoken of here was a type of tunic that was worn as an undergarment. The coat was an outer garment that also served as a blanket at night. Most people in those days owned only one coat and perhaps one or two shirts. The reason the coat is mentioned specifically is that it was the most valuable garment that people owned. It served as an outer garment, as a blanket and, in a sense, a shelter. As a matter of fact, the Mosaic Law required that the coat couldn’t be kept. “If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.” (Ex. 22:26-27)
But Jesus goes beyond both the law of the land and the Mosaic Law. He said, “If you lose a lawsuit, but the judgment doesn’t satisfy the plaintiff, and there are still bitter hard feelings, voluntarily give more than the judgment if it will make things right, and thereby you can settle things not only legally, but you can settle things morally.
The idea Jesus is conveying here is that when you give more than you’re asked, you’re showing that you regret any wrongdoing on your part; you’re showing that you have no bitterness toward the other person, and you’re showing that you want to make things right. As Christians, it’s not about seeing how little we can give but how much we can give.
I heard about a man that was going to celebrate his anniversary, and he went to his wife and asked her what she’d like. She said she’d like some perfume. So he went to a department store, headed straight for the perfume counter and told the saleswoman that he wanted to buy his wife a nice bottle of perfume for their anniversary. So the salesclerk reached into the counter and pulled out a container of their best perfume and told him it was on sale for just $50. He said, “Well that’s really more than I want to spend. What else do you have?” So she reaches under the counter again and pulled out a smaller bottle for $30. He said, “That’s still too high. Give me your most economical brand of perfume.” Well, she pulled out an extremely small bottle that cost just $15. He still wasn’t satisfied with the price, so he said, “Look, lady, let me be very specific. Show me something that’s real cheap.” The clerk reached across the counter and handed the man a mirror.
As children of God, we should always be willing to give more than asked of us. Oh, it may cost more in the short run, but we will gain a lot more in the long run. The third right we need to be willing to sacrifice is, we need to be willing to go farther than we’re required.
“And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” (v.41) Remember that Israel was occupied territory. It was controlled by the Roman Empire. The Romans had a law that greatly embittered the Jewish people. By law, a Roman soldier could compel a Jew to carry his weapons, his knapsack, or any burden that he had, one mile. It didn’t matter whether the Jewish person was working in his field or on his way to the synagogue to worship, the Roman soldier had the right to conscript this man and force him to carry his burden. Every Jewish boy had marked off one mile from his house and had memorized the exact distance. Whenever a Jewish boy or man was compelled to go that mile, he would walk that mile down to the very foot, put that burden down, and with a bitter look on his face make the point “not one foot more.” The Pharisees had life boiled down to the minimum. They practiced what I call a “minimum morality.” They boiled life down to just the minimum of what they had to do. I heard about a mother who said to her little boy one time, “I want you to eat a little bit of spinach.” The boy said, “How little can I get by with?” The Pharisees were always trying to figure out how little they could get by with.
One day a farmer went to a used car lot to buy a car. The car salesman met him and the farmer said, “How much is that car?” The car salesman said, “Oh, that’s a real bargain.” The farmer said, “Well, how much?” He said, “Well, the basic car is $10,000.” The farmer said, “Well, I’ll take it.” The used car salesman said, “It’s actually more than that.” He pulled out a sheet of paper and said, “There are some add-ons that you’ll need to pay extra for such as air conditioning, the heater, the whitewall tires, the automatic transmission, etc.” The farmer said, “Then why is it a bargain?” He said, “Because you do get a free tank of gas.” The farmer left.
Days later the car salesman came by the farmer’s house and said, “I’d like to buy a cow.” The farmer said, “I’ve got a real bargain for you.” He took him to a beautiful cow and said, “How do you like this one?” The used car salesman said, “How much?” He said, “Well, the cow is $400.” The used car salesman said, “I’ll take it!” The farmer said, “Wait a minute. There are some add-ons.” The used car salesman said, “Add-ons?” The farmer said, “Yes, for two-tone color—$100; extra-large stomach $125; milk storage department $75; dispensing device—4 spigots at $10 each $40; genuine cowhide upholstery $125; automatic flyswatter $35; dual horns $50—total $950.” The used car salesman said, “Well, why do you call it a bargain?” He said, “Because the udder components are free?”
That was exactly the way the Pharisees looked at life, and the way the typical person looks at life. They’ve got it all broken down in just how little they have to do to get by. But Jesus said, “Don’t just go the first mile that you have to go, go the second mile that you don’t have to go, because that’s where the real blessing of life is found.” Finally, we need to be willing to grant all that’s needed.
“Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” (v.42) The implication here is that the person doing the asking has a real genuine need. If it’s a real need, you should meet that need. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re required to respond to every foolish or every selfish request. For example: A friend of mine’s son was about to turn 16. And he goes to his father and asks if dad would buy him a BMW? The father said, “Son, it would be most deleterious for your spiritual fortitude if I were to provide you with automated transportation that could be damaging to your health, welfare, and character.” The son looked at the father and said, “I don’t get it.” dad said, “That’s exactly right.”
You see, some giving hurts more than it helps. I remember being in New Orleans during a national youth gathering a few years ago and I was on Bourbon Street. As I was walking along a man standing on the street corner said, “Mister, I haven’t eaten in several days, would you give me some money?” I said, “No, but I will give you a free meal; I’ll buy you some clothes; and I’ll tell you about how much God loves you.” That man began a tirade on how I was a racist, and people like me didn’t care about people like him, and why couldn’t I just give him what he asked for.
In reality, he didn’t want help, he wanted a handout, and those are two different things. The Bible says in Ps. 112:5, “A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion.” Yes, when someone comes to you and has a real need, and asks to borrow something, loan it to them. Better yet, if you can, give it to them. But do it with discretion. It’s not easy going the second mile. But here’s something I heard that speaks to this command; if you only go the first mile you’re a victim. If you go the second mile you’re a victor. The first mile is the lone mile; the second mile is the love mile. The first mile is the slave mile; the second mile is the smile mile. The really successful people in life, and the really happy people in life, and the really blessed people in life are second milers. When you think about it Christmas is all about going the second mile.
When Jesus left the hallways of glory to come to a dirty world, He went the second mile. When the King of kings was born in a lowly stable, surrounded by smelly animals, He went the second mile. When our Savior died on the cross for the sins of the world, He went the second mile. As disciples of Jesus we need to follow His example and go the second mile as well. This country we live in is a result of a man going the second mile.
Shortly after the battles ended the American Revolution, but before the peace had been negotiated, George Washington was with his troops in Newburgh, New York. But the troops began to grow restless because they hadn’t been paid. Washington had begged the Continental Congress to do what they said they’d do and pay the soldiers, but they refused, so some of the officers began to organize a rebellion. They talked about marching on Philadelphia, which was at that time the seat of the reigning national government, and overthrowing that government and letting the army rule the nation. With the fate of America in the balance, George Washington made a surprise appearance before these officers.
After praising them for their service and thanking them for their sacrifice, he pulled from his pocket a copy of a speech that he wished to read. But then he fumbled with a paper and finally reached for a set of reading glasses—glasses those men had never seen him wear before. Washington made this simple statement: “I have already grown grey in the service of my country, and now I am going blind.” Historian, Richard Norton Smith, wrote: “Instantly rebellion melted into tears. It was a galvanizing moment, and the rebellion was put down.” The rebellion ended because they had seen before them a second miler. Becoming a Christian is one thing; being a Christian is quite another. Every chance we get, for the glory of Jesus, for the goodness of others, and because of the grace of God, we need to be willing to go the second mile. Amen